Sonic the Hedgehog: Steel Clouds
by Robert Ballard
Summary: When Doctor Eggman declares war on Earth, Sonic, Tails, Shadow, and a unusual newcomer must band together to put an end to his evil schemes once and for all.


SONIC THE HEDGEHOG: STEEL CLOUDS

By Robert Ballard

Prologue: The Hedgehogs and The Doctor

**Stratosphere**

**Midday**

**Doctor Eggman's Battleship**

Doctor Ivo "Eggman" Robotnik's massive battleship glided menacingly through the planet Earth's upper atmosphere, casting a shadow on the terrified speck below that was the United Federation. The light of the midday sun reflected brightly off of the shining red edges and turrets adorning the deck, ready to unleash all firepower with a single push of a button. This vessel was the ultimate vessel, the pinnacle of mechanical genius created by the most powerful mind on the planet. The ship boasted many cockpits, two on the sides, one on the bottom, and one on the top. Three of these, namely the side and bottom ones, were inhabited and controlled by the most sophisticated robotic systems ever devised for their intended purpose. Inside the top cockpit, which resided atop a shining crimson tower, lounged the maddest, most maniacal man to ever walk the planet. Doctor Eggman was a large, egg-shaped, mustached man in what was probably his fifties. His eyes were constantly covered by a pair of black-tinted goggles and his bushy mustache covered the majority of his mouth, which sat slightly below his oddly-colored, disfigured, perpetually-broken nose. In his recent years, the Doctor had began to show prominent gray streaks in that glorious mustache of his, much to his chagrin of being effected by something as trivial as age. His body was now seated in a futuristic-looking black leather chair, situated in the middle of his large circular command bridge. Arrays of buttons, switches, and curious silver objects covered the walls. His 300 IQ mind contained knowledge of every single one or these objects, a fact which he was very proud of. A radar on his dash-panel bleeped in an attempt to find any sign of military, or worse, Sonic the Hedgehog. Sonic, as most people in the world knew, was his blue, supersonic-running arch-nemesis, one that he would stop at nothing to destroy. Over the years, Eggman's schemes and plans had been foiled time and time again by either Sonic or one of his many accomplices and friends. Cold hatred raged in the Doctor's heart as soon as the hedgehog's name was mentioned, nearly always followed by a vow the destroy him.

_This time, _he thought to himself, _I _will _win. I will destroy that horrible hedgehog forever!_He let out a maniacal, high-pitched laugh. His cackle was cut short, however, due to a blip on the radar. A computerized voice spoke.

"Intruder detected on battleship deck. Repeat, intruder detected on battleship deck. Deploying robot defenses and priming turret mechanisms immediately."

Eggman looked through the bridge window to see robotic soldiers of his own creation materialize in a flash of light on the deck and the crimson turrets turning slowly to the nose of the ship. A holographic screen appeared suddenly on the window. Eggman retracted and looked to see if his suspicions were correct. The screen showed a live feed of the source of the commotion. Two hedgehogs stood on the nose of the vessel, their eyes focused on the swarms of robots and the now-repositioned turrets. Eggman recognized these hedgehogs. The one on the right was tall and slim. His fur was jet black with dark red markings on his wrists, ankles, and quills. He wore white, black, and red shoes, which Eggman knew contained miniature jets on the bottoms. His face was stern and projected an urge to fight. His name was Shadow the Hedgehog. The one on the left was the one the Doctor knew all too well: Sonic the Hedgehog. He wore a cocky smile on his face and his eyes burnt with anticipation. Eggman's face twisted into a thing of rage as he yelled for the turrets to unleash all of their firepower on them both. The cannons shot volleys of fireballs, bombs, and bullets while the robots pulled out electrically-charged shields and swords reminiscent of chainsaws. Sonic blasted off at an impossible speed to face the robots and Shadow leaped high into the air, jumping off of the projectiles as if they were rocks in steam. Sonic swept his left leg quickly, completely avoiding the shields and swords, knocking the soldiers to the ground. He then began to bounce off of each of them with his signature Homing Attack, clearing the way for Shadow. Shadow initiated his jet shoes, causing him to hover high in the air.

"Chaos Electrocution!" He shouted as he threw his hand out in front of himself quickly. A stream of golden lightning flew from his palm, forking and splitting. The energy collided with the cannons, causing them to let out a deafening boom as they exploded, shooting shards of metal in all directions and causing flames to engulf the deck, decimating the army of robots. Sonic launched himself towards Shadow like a missile just as the explosion reached his location and grabbed ahold of his arm.

"Well that was reckless, you coulda killed me!" Sonic exclaimed.

"I'm not here to protect you. I'm here to bring the Doctor to justice." Shadow put simply.

"Looks like we're on the same page here. Let's go!" Sonic said. Shadow glided down to the charred ground quickly and they both sped down the deck to the tower.

Doctor Eggman let out a roar of fury as he sped down the corridor to the engine room.

"I can't believe this! I spent years of my life constructing those only for them to be destroyed by two hedgehogs!" The Doctor raged,"Well, at least_ it's_ safe." Upon entering the engine room he headed down the stairs directly in front of the main engine. He was completely confident in this project. It was a risky project, but he was completely sure of his abilities. He had made the proper precautions to make sure it would be under heavy guard. When he reached the end of the stairs, he traversed a short hallway leading to a massive, magnetically-sealed door. He dismissed his robotic guards and disabled his extensive security systems. He punched in his password on the computer terminal on the door, which proceeded to open slowly. As soon as the door had opened a crack, the Doctor's face lit up with a malicious smile as a blinding light filled the hallway. He laughed madly again. This was the perfect time. The preparations had been made. He would not fail to destroy Sonic this time. This time, he would be the victor.

**Author's Note: I hope you enjoyed the prologue. I'll try to update as soon as I can if anyone likes it. Please make sure to leave reviews and feedback, it would be very** **much appreciated.** **This is Rob****ert ****Ballard signing off! :D**


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